"Boys, boys, boys, slow down. I can't understand you if you're both talking at once." Mr. Moseby said. Marcus and Woody looked at each other.
"You first." Marcus said. Woody nodded.
"The twins both came to their cabins and kicked us out. Both were crying. Cody was really freaked out." Woody explained.
"So was Zack." Marcus added. Mr. Moseby nodded sadly.
"I just spoke with Zack." Moseby shook his head. "Boys. I want to explain something to you. This may be hard to understand, but it's very important. Obviously, the boys are going through something, Cody in particular. If they don't want our help, then we can't help them." Mr. Moseby said. The teens frowned.
"What?" Marcus asked.
"I know. But, if they won't accept our help then there's nothing we can do. It would only look like we're bothering them if we try to force anything." Mr. Moseby said.
"Can't the school get involved? I mean it's his mental health, right? Don't we have a school therapist or something?" Marcus asked.
"We do. I've already suggested to Cody that he go and see him." Mr. Moseby said, holding up his hand in a 'calm down' gesture. Marcus ignored the gesture, though, and raised his voice.
"You suggested it. But you're in a position of authority! You have to tell him!" Marcus said.
"Yeah! Cody won't listen to suggestions anymore." Woody added.
"Boys please. I can't tell Cody what to do in this scenario. Normally, I take pleasure in ordering you teenage...Teenagers to do things. But this is more serious than yelling at you for staying our past curfew or ditching school. Telling Cody to do something won't work here. He would only get more anxious and annoyed and end up distancing himself more." Mr. Moseby said, standing up from his desk and walking around to lean against it.
"There has to be something else we can do." Marcus said.
"Like an intervention!!" Woody said. Mr. Moseby shook his head.
"No, Woody-" Marcus cut him off.
"Hey, that's not a bad idea Woody!" Marcus looked to the other boy.
"Right? We can all sit Cody down and talk to him." Woody said.
"No, remember what happened last time you tried that?" Mr. Moseby asked.
"Well we won't lock the door this time." Woody said.
"Woody, it wasn't the locking of the door that freaked him out." Mr. Moseby brought up.
"It'll be calmer this time. No, this is a good idea. Tonight in mine and Zack's room. We can all sit down and talk. Calmly and respectfully." Marcus said.
"Perfect! Let's go tell the girls. Moseby, be there around 6:00?" Woody said. They left before Mr. Moseby could say anything else.
______________________________
Come 6:07, Marcus, Woody, Bailey, Maya, Mr. Moseby, and Zack were all gathered in Marcus and Zack's room.
"Okay. Cody should be here any minute. I told him I needed help on some of the history homework." Zack said. Everyone nodded anxiously. Mr. Moseby and Zack appeared the most concerned. The oldest was not too keen on this whole plan. He knew immediately that Cody wasn't going to stay once he figured out what was going on. However, he needed the kids to understand how serious this was, so he was letting them do things their way.
Zack on the other hand was terrified for other reasons. He was scared that Cody would confirm his thoughts that he was a terrible brother. He was scared that Cody was slipping away and that he'd never get his twin back.
A knock on the door jolted everyone. Zack brought his finger up to his lips, indicating to everyone to be quiet. Zack stood and walked to the door, his hands trembling. He opened the door.
"Hey Cody. Come in." He said, trying to keep his voice from shaking too.
Cody stepped inside and froze.
"I didn't realize this was a group thing." He said hesitantly. Zack closed the door behind Cody and leaned against it, blocking Cody's only exit. Cody turned to look at his brother.
"You said you needed help with history homework. Why is Mr. Moseby here?" Cody asked, clearly getting angry.
"Cody. Sit down." Mr. Moseby said.
Cody turned back to the group.
"I'm not doing this. Move Zack." He said, walking over to the door.
"Nope." Zack said. Cody looked Zack in the eyes, and instantly felt bad. Although Zack held a tough posture with his arms crossed over his chest, there were tears in his eyes. Cody felt his heart break.
"Zack..." He said quietly.
"Cody, please?" Bailey's voice made him turn around. His girlfriend also looked sad and scared. Cody looked from his brother to Bailey, and then slowly moved to the couch and sat down.
Mr. Moseby couldn't hide his shocked expression. Was this working?
"Cody. You know we've been worried about you. We know you're going through something. And...You don't have to talk to us about it. You don't. We aren't gonna force you anymore. But, please, at least talk to someone else. A professional! The school has a therapist on board. He specializes in teens and things like this." Bailey started.
"It wouldn't be so bad." Woody added. Everyone nodded seriously.
Cody looked around at everyone. His heart was racing faster than ever. He struggled to keep his breathing in check. He looked back over to Zack. His twin was looking at the floor intently. He looked back to Maya, Bailey, Woody, and Marcus.
And then to Mr. Moseby. The manager looked deeply troubled. He had known Zack and Cody since they were young. He of all people knew Cody the best next to Zack. He could tell that something was really wrong. He wanted to help. They all did.
Looking around and those closest to him, Cody felt himself choke up.
"I know we've been saying the same things over and over again. But it's true. We're all worried. We all want you to be okay. We all want-" Marcus was cut off by Cody breaking down. The boy hid his face in his hands and just sobbed. Everyone was caught off guard. Everyone except Moseby, who moved to sit next to Cody on the table. He put his arm around Cody instantly and held him close.
"That's alright. It's alright, Cody. There are a lot of people who care about you in this room. And you have even more who aren't here. Everyone here loves you, Cody. We all want to see you happy again." Mr. Moseby said gently. Cody leaned into Mr. Moseby.
"I-I'm scared...I'm so scared. I don't know what's wr...wrong with me!" Cody said quietly.
"Nothing is wrong with you!" Bailey said quickly. Mr. Moseby held up his hand, steadying the girl.
"We know you're scared, Cody. We are too. But we will get through this together. You're not on your own, okay? You're not!" Bailey said, struggling to keep from crying herself. Maya moved closer and put her arm around Bailey.
"I kn...know I need help. I just...I can't talk about it! Every time I try I...I freak out." Cody said.
"We never said it would be a walk in the park." Mr. Moseby said.
Cody shook his head. "I hate it." He said.
"I know you do. I know." Mr. Moseby moved his hand on Cody's back. He looked up. "Zack?" He said. Everyone turned to look at the older twin. Zack glanced up from the floor. "Come here." Moseby said. Zack didn't move. "Zack, come here." Mr. Moseby said a bit more firmly. Zack walked over slowly. He stood next to the couch. Maya grabbed Zack's hand with her free hand. Zack forced himself to remain strong.
Mr. Moseby looked to Zack. He took a deep breath and cleared his throat. "We want you to get better, Cody. We want..." Zack's voice shook. Cody looked at his brother, and Zack looked away.
"We want you back." Zack said.
Cody looked down. "I'm sorry." He said quietly.
"No, Cody you don't have to apologize. We just want you to know that we're here for you and we love you and we want you to get better. We want you to get better." Bailey was the first to respond. Cody looked at her. He looked around and everyone. His heart suddenly started speeding up, and his chest went tight. He made up his mind.
"Okay. I'll talk to someone."
A/N: Okay, first of all: I AM SO SORRY IT HAS TAKEN ME SO LONG TO UPDATE PLEASE DON'T KILL MEEE. This semester at school is super crazy and work has been nuts so I've basically just been going to school, doing homework, going to work, and sleeping whenever I can lol. Second: I'm so glad you guys are liking this book!! I didn't know how people were gonna take it but y'all have been so nice and supportive so THANK YOUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm actually working on the next part now as well so stay tuned for that!!!! Thanks so much for reading, I really hope you enjoyed this part! I hope you have a great day, whatever time it is where you are!! 😊✌🏻♥️